Earthquakes have plagued Japan through the start of 2019. The latest tremor struck on the island of Kyushu on January 26. Fortunately no casualties were reported but the natural disaster followed two similar events in the country in the space of weeks. Japan welcomes thousands of British holidaymakers every year, yet could their journeys be under threat?
What is the current situation in Japan?
On January 26, the Japanese island of Kyushu was been rocked by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake – barely three weeks after it was struck by another, similarly sized tremor which was rapidly followed by a larger one off its south east coast.
The Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) said the tremor had hit Kumamoto prefecture today at 2.16pm (5.16am GMT), but stressed there was no risk of a tsunami as a result of it.
The quake, which happened at a dept of just over six miles, registered a lower 5 on the Japanese earthquake scale, equivalent to 4.4 on the standard moment magnitude scale in the town of Nagomi, which replaced the Richter magnitude scale in the 1970s.
There were no immediate reports of any injuries as a result of the earthquake.
What has the UK Government said about travel to Japan?
The UK Government has not issued any advice suggesting holidaymakers should not visit Japan.
Yet they have flagged the threat of earthquake and warned travellers to be prepared.
They state: “There’s a continuous risk of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis throughout Japan.
“Latest warnings and advisories are published on the Japan Meteorological Agency website.
“As Japan is in a major earthquake zone you should familiarise yourself with safety procedures in the event of an earthquake or tsunami, and take note of instructions in hotel rooms, at train stations and on your local prefectural website.
“Information on earthquakes and any impact on towns and cities in Japan, including tsunami warnings, are published by the Japan Meteorological Agency.”
A total of 310,500 British nationals visited Japan in 2017.
When were the previous earthquakes in Japan?
On January 3, Nagomi was hit by an earthquake with a magnitude of 5, with the JMA warning about the possibility of aftershocks over the next week.
Five days later, another quake measuring 6.3 on the scale struck at a depth of 10 miles north-northwest of Nishinoomote on the island of Tangegashima in Kagoshima Prefecture.
The quake happened at a depth of 24 miles and was centred 73 miles southeast of the city of Kagoshima in south of Kyushu.
